Obama includes Republicans in big delegation to meet new Saudi King

President Barack Obama will fly a 30-member delegation including top officials and Republican foreign policy veterans to Riyadh on Tuesday to meet new Saudi Arabian King Salman as the crisis in neighboring Yemen continues to boil.

Joining Obama in paying respects following the death of King Abdullah will be Republican statesmen James Baker, secretary of state in the George H.W. Bush administration, and Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to presidents Ford and H.W. Bush, the White House said.

Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state for President George W. Bush, Stephen Hadley, national security adviser in that administration, and Republican Senator John McCain, who is often critical of Obama’s foreign policy, also will join.

Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry and CIA Director John Brennan will be part of the delegation, as will top Obama advisers Susan Rice and Lisa Monaco.